Butterflies are a species of insects found commonly in the Glade of Dreams. Most of them are yellow or blue. For the majority of the Rayman series, butterflies act merely as background elements.

It is unknown if the butterflies have any connection to the Tribelles, another species of butterfly. It is also unknown if there is any connection between the butterflies and the Squabs encountered in Rayman 3.

Butterflies make a return Rayman Origins. They can be seen fluttering around in several levels of the Jibberish Jungle and the Ticklish Temples; a group of butterflies can be seen hiding on the loading screen on the same levels, and if players run into them, they temporarily fly around. During the first trailer, some of them can be seen flying away from the stone circle right before Rayman is created.

In Rayman Legends and Rayman Adventures, butterflies have a greater significance: touching a group of them will cause them to scatter, which in turn causes elements of the terrain to shift. This indicates that butterflies have magical properties affecting the architecture of certain areas. These are the only games in which butterflies have a major effect on the gameplay.